Canmore raises hotel tax as part of Olympic support

A render image of what the 242 finished units at the Athlete's Village would look like. Council discussed raising hotel taxes to pay for the Olympics, by requesting that to add 2 per cent taxes to hotels, on top of the existing hotel tax. This is estimated to generate an extra $2 million per year for Canmore.BA

Council for the Town of Canmore voted to support the bid for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on November 6.

The motion was passed six to one in favor, opposed by Councillor Joanna McCallum, to support Calgary’s potential bid on the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games and to agree to provide the required IOC Guarantees on the condition that satisfactory terms are reached with other orders of government for funding support sufficient to cover the operational costs of Games delivery in the Town of Canmore.

Chief administrative officer Lisa de Soto gave a detailed presentation to Council, with support from two BidCo representatives Fergal Duff and Jolan Storch who gave information when needed.

“There was no change in finances to Games Operations for the Town of Canmore over the last week. Canmore is proposed as the Host Mountain Community for Biathlon, Cross Country Skiing, and Para Nordic Skiing events. There are a total of 61 events that would take place during the 50-day period that encompasses the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Canmore is also proposed to host the medal ceremonies for all of the individual Paralympic sports, which means that a celebration plaza with a capacity of up to 5,000 people would need to be located and constructed. The revised public funding budget has been revised from the original budget of $3.010 billion to 2.875 billion,” said De Soto.

In discussion of the Athlete’s Village construction and costs, BidCo said that they were confident with the budget as they have compared with other recent similar projects in Canmore.

Councillor Joanna McCallum questioned why there was only a 10 per cent contingency budget for this $116M project.

“Where would Council get the extra dollars if interest rates rise?” raised McCallum.

“Within the capital budget for the athlete’s village in Canmore we have a total contingency of 10 per cent built into the project, that is split between a design contingency and a construction contingency. We have been working on this budget with the Town of Canmore and CCHD for a long time” said Duff.

“We have no control over interest rates, obviously interest rates follow economic trends that we can’t control.”

It was discussed that the Town of Canmore raise hotel taxes to pay for the Olympics.

“We are requesting that we add two per cent taxes to hotels, on top of the existing hotel tax. This will generate an extra $2 million per year for Canmore,” said De Soto.

Canmore is in discussions with Province over Resort Municipality Status (RMS), it was estimated these funds would help offset Olympic operations and capital costs but the Province may not be able to get this through before the spring election.

Councillor Joanna McCallum raised making four amendments that Council first secure coverage of all Olympic related policing and security costs above the Town’s current policing contingent. That the administration return to Council to ratify financial backstop of any budget overages for the Athletes Village/PAH project beyond the restricted and unrestricted contingencies, and that the revenue sharing agreement for resorts of 2 per cent (RMS) to commence in 2019 and continue in perpetuity.

McCallum said she believed her amendments spoke to both sides.

“I heard a lot of people speaking from the heart at the public hearing but I also heard worry. My concern is if there is something that goes sideways, and there is any number of things that can put us over. For us to go over by several million could be financially devastating. I know in Whistler they had concerns about the 66 million dollars and they wanted to make sure that they received their two per cent whether or not the City of Vancouver got the bid. I want to see if council heard the same coverage concerns,” said McCallum.

Her amendments, except the first, were opposed by all.

Mayor John Borrowman said he would not support this amendment as he had full confidence in the budget that has been proposed.

“The majority of the affordable housing project will be funded by the provincial government. I am looking forward to having 242 units of housing,” he said.

Councillor Comfort added, “If we don’t get this affordable housing funding, we will have to find the funding somewhere else, and I don’t know where we will get it.”

To make the RMS a condition of Canmore, Council agreed to participate, indicating that it was better to negotiate from a position of strength. However, other Councillors said they did not want to jeopardize the benefits of hosting the Olympics and affordable housing.

All Councillors had their say. Mayor Borrowman said he would support the bid because he believes that hosting the Games clearly fits the character of Canmore.

“The 242 units of affordable housing would be more than we have been able to achieve after 20 years at the Town of Canmore. This project will also help to deliver infrastructure like the pedestrian bridge.

I recall how excited and how involved we all were in 1988 Games. I believe the IOC has been corrupt but I do believe the IOC is changing, and we could be leaders as a part of that positive change,” he said.

“The 2026 Games will have little impact to the wildlife corridor as it will take place during the winter months. Whether or not we host the Games, we need to continue to create options. There are always risks, but every capital project carries risk. I believe that as a Council, we have to make decisions with vision and without fear of the unknown. I often try to imagine Canmore 20/30 years from now and I ask myself if this decision will move us towards that vision.”

Councillor Esme Comfort said she believed Canmore had a chance to be a model for the world.

“I heard a lot of fear at the hearings, that fear freezes people and they just say no. In response what I would say is what if we do it right thing, let’s look at what the possibilities are. I was a host for the IOC in 86 and I saw the bad side of things, bit I also heard the passion of the future competitors at the hearings and I heard the hope. This community hosting the Olympics brought together volunteers and people that never would have met otherwise. It empowered people,” she said.

Councillor Jeff Hilstad supported the motion but said he struggled a lot.

“I see positives and negatives. Is the two per cent enough? I want to see if we can get the funding we need,” he said.

Other points that were discussed included that as the host community the Nordic Centre upgrades would be fully funded by the HostCo capital budget.

All costs for transportation would be fully funded, so there will be no cost to the Canmore for these projects. Administration said there would be no expectation to buy new buses.

“It is very possible that many of the visitors coming from Calgary will return at night,” said De Soto.

“Once the Games are finished we will see an overall improvement for our community in traffic congestion.”

There is no proposed build in the National Park. De Soto added that a total of 20,000 volunteers would be needed for the entire event, and Canmore could in bring volunteers from outside of the community.

There will be no extra policing required during Games, this was confirmed by an RCMP Staff Sergeant in a meeting. Broadband suppliers may provide more service to meet a higher demand if the bid is successful.